My friend Dale Sadler and I planned on engaging in a long six hour hike today in the Mountains of East Tennessee. We have been planning this trip for months. Yesterday, all the preparations were made, there was the backpack, trail mix, and army pants, all ready for the earthly adventure. At five in the morning, the alarm went off, and by 5:20am, I was on my way. About 25 minutes into the trip, the car started to slow down. Push on the petal but the car did not push off. Slowly the car came to a halt and so did the trip. My car by no means is new, but it has not broken down in years. There I was, guiding my car into a stranger’s driveway, hoping that the problem was not serious. Too much time and energy was invested in this trip, without reaping the sense of completion. The hike was even mentioned in the opinion section of the Tennessean, the statewide Newspaper. It was a famous trip already. Maybe this was deliverance from the Lord, since Charity is due with our second child any time now, who knows, but I wanted to take this last adventure before baby season officially started. So here I am, overcoming the computer instead of the great wilderness: No mountain lions or bears for me.

There are thousands of books on the art of preaching. Some books are beneficial while others are wasteful of time. A text on preach should be read at different stages of a preacher’s develop. Certain books are for developing the basics of sermon communication while other books polish the preacher’s style and delivery. Here is an orderly account of books to read on preaching.

1.The First Steps in Preaching Development.

A.Sermon: Design and Delivery by Thomas Holland.

B.Speaking for the Master by Batsell Barrett Baxter.

These books are the foundational texts in preaching within the churches of Christ. The books are broad with easily applied applications. These books are for the beginning preacher, but predominantly for members of the church that have a desire to occasionally preach.

2.Developing the Expository Style.

A.Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson.

B.Anointed Expository Preaching by Stephen Olford.

C.Power in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix.

D.Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell.

The books in this section refine the style of Biblical preaching. Instead of topical or textual sermons, there is the finer art of expository. These books increase in specialization. It begins with the basics of expository and ends with focused expository.

3.Polishing the Presentation.

A.A Complete Guide to Sermon Delivery by Al Fasol.

B.Preaching that Connects by Mark Galli and Craig Brian Larson.

C.The Witness of Preaching by Thomas Long

These books polish the presentation of the sermon. They deal with using vocal tactics to increase persuasion and stylistic variety to increase dynamic impact. Finally, the last book in the section introduces various methods of preaching the text.

4.Developing the Narrative Style.

A.Preaching by Fred Craddock.

B.The Homiletical Plot by Eugene L. Lowry.

C.Preaching by Calvin Miller.

The narrative sermon done well is a powerful device, done poorly, it is a cute story. This style is for the modern hearer of the word. It seems to engage the listener better than the previous styles.

5.Soul food for the hungry preacher.

A.Preaching with Spiritual Passion by Edward Rowell

B.The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor.

C.The Cherry Log Sermons by Fred Craddock.

The final section here is some inspiration in the first book about the feelings that come from preaching to some words of wisdom from a master preacher to perfection in sermon development. These books are the living models of great preaching.

This morning my brother emailed me that mother was in the hospital. She is having some heart problems and the doctors were going to run some tests. Recently, mother has dealt with some high blood pressure issues. The ironic part of this story is that I cannot visit my mother. I visit people in the hospital on behalf of Christ and the congregation, but in regards to my own mother, the door is shut. She is in Nova Scotia and I in Tennessee. The verse “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:37), has never been slammed down my throat in such a powerful manner before.

A Minister and a Congregation are friends. C.S. Lewis states that true friends are honored by one another’s friendship because each party believes the other is better than themselves. Congregation and minister develop problems when either the minister or the congregation feels superior to the other party in the relationship. When the congregation arrogantly exalts above the minister or the minister stands on a two legged chair looking down on the congregation. When this begins to happen, soon the friendship will be over.

In the good news section. It seems to appear the Nashville Predators will be staying in Tennessee.

This book about preaching is not for the beginning proclaimer of God’s word. There is little about homelitical structure and style. But the book i s a rich read for the developing minister. The text helps the minister polish the presentation and the message of the sermon. It deals with developing engaging introductions, stories, and conclusions. If you are a minister looking to refine your skills, this is a helpful book.

This book explores the emergent church culture. The book’s focus is on missional living within a ever changing culture. The books deals with the changing paradigm of modernism to postmodernism. Some church leaders would consider this book radical, but this book is helpful in providing a proper perspective on reaching out in faith. It is a plea to change churchianity into Christianity. Because of the influence of mega-church culture, we have been seduced into selling Christianity like a product on the open market, the book presents a way to authentically change the community for Christ.

Last night, Charity and I finally had the opportunity to watch the last episode of LOST. Wednesday we had church and only watched the introductory show. What a ending? I loved the show. In fact, I would never have been a LOST fan if it was not for my brother. Charity and I watched the first episode but never got into the series. But my brother bought us the DVD’s of season one. We began to watch them and became huge fans. Personally, I loved the contrast of John Locke and Jack. Locke operates through faith and Jack through reason. There is a big purpose to the island, where Jack is just trying to get rescued from the island. The show pictured Jack in a way that stated that it was best for Jack to have remained on the island. I am not sure what will happen next season, in fact, I am not sure what happened in Jack’s life. It seemed to be a future flash in his life, but his father in the flashes was still alive. Who knows? As a Christian I relate with Locke, in that my life is guided by “fate” (Locke’s term, “providence” my term). There is a inter-connectivity with those on the island to one another as well as too the island. This is systems theory for a individualistic world. I agree with Locke, we all have a purpose, and God has a plan for us. God is weaving a life in all of us.

The Predators are in the process of being sold to a rich Canadian business man. He made his money selling the world the Blackberry. With this news, I am worried that the Predators might be moving, but as I continue to follow the story, it seems to me that the Predators cannot depart town for another seven years. In fact, this might be a good move for the Predator’s fans, the old owner was looking to make money, the new owner is looking to win a cup. He will not be depended on the revenue from the club. Hopefully, this will help the Predators bring in some top talent.

Today, I was down to the Library at Heritage Christian University doing research for a future paper. I was exploring the idea of unity within the fellowship of the churches of Christ. We as a brotherhood have wrote volumes on this topic. Within the Restoration Movement, there are two prominent tenets: restoration of the primitive church and unity of all Christians. Some within the stream of Restoration believe that these two tenets are unreconcilable, but to be true to the Restoration thought, one must seek to balance unity with pattern-ism. There is a New Testament pattern as well as a call to New Testament unity. These ideas are not at odds with one another, but support one another. So in the next few weeks, my mind will be focused on the Biblical model for unity within Christ.

This is a older picture. It was taken at Kure Beach last year. If you can notice, there is some ice cream on the mouth. She loved eating ice cream on the pier over looking the ocean. There is no trip to Kure Beach this year. Maybe a trip to Nova Scotia. If so, that will be my ocean fix for the year.

All that I wanted was the Ducks to beat the Wings. My wish has come true. Looking forward to the Stanley Cup Finals.